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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 08/31/2023

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Focus on greasing political allies is putting industrial progress on hold and lives in danger.

The Hill (8/29/23) op-ed: "In the face of Maui’s devastating wildfires that have claimed more than 100 lives, with many still unaccounted for, climate activists are exploiting the tragedy to advance their agenda. But declaring a climate emergency at the behest of the climate lobby would do nothing except make life more expensive for everyday Americans. Extremist climate groups made their goal clear when President Biden briefly stopped on the island to assess the damage: The president must declare a national climate emergency. The chorus includes versions of 'if not now, then when?' alongside demands for action 'now' and even some claims that it’s now normal for people to choose between burning in fires or jumping into the ocean. A Biden-declared climate 'emergency' won’t address the root cause of the Maui tragedy, which was mostly due to poor planning, incompetent leadership and distracted priorities. The leaders of Lahaina were well aware of an 'extremely high risk of burning' since a 2014 report both defined the problem and proposed a number of mitigation measures...Whole-of-government climate policies are a distraction from implementing practical policies that could make a tangible improvement — and, in the case of Lahaina, save numerous lives. Whether it’s Maui, California or East Palestine, Ohio, Democrats have proven ill-equipped to handle the powers they already have consolidated. They don’t need access to more power and resources: they need a reality check. Replacing wooden poles with fire resistant materials, expanding evacuation routes or thinning out dead debris from national forests doesn’t grab as many headlines as solar shields or green hydrogen, but they stand to immediately benefit residents."

"Generations of fossil fuel development have hollowed out the Ohio River Valley economy, hemorrhaging jobs and accelerating population decline. Investing in the region’s energy transition is an opportunity to spur job growth and shared prosperity across the region."

– Sean O’Leary,
Ohio River Valley Institute

Welcome to Texas, the wind and solar capital of the U.S.

NBC (8/27/23) reports: "ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of Texas are asking Texans to reduce their electricity use, if safe to do so, Sunday evening. This is due to extreme temperatures and expected low wind power and potential low solar generation. ERCOT's Conservation Appeal is in effect Sunday, August 27 from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. CT. The agency said, like yesterday, they are not experiencing emergency conditions, but high demand for electricity will result in anticipated low operating reserves for the Texas power grid this afternoon and into the evening. Emergent operations have been avoided the past few days due to Texas residents and businesses' efforts to conserve energy, along with additional grid reliability tools. 'ERCOT continues to use additional tools to manage the grid reliably, including using reserve power, calling upon reductions by large electric customers that have volunteered to lower their energy use, and bringing more generation online sooner. ERCOT is also working with out-of-state Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Market Participants to obtain additional power generation capacity.' Conservation is a widely used industry tool that can help lower demand on the power grid for a specific peak time."

A reminder that while we are finally getting some traction against ESG, we still have a long way to go...

Reuters (8/31/23) reports: "Some coal producers are having to set aside tens of millions of dollars to cover their own risks as they are cut adrift by insurers, making it more difficult and costly to do business amid a surge in demand for the fossil fuel. Dozens of insurers have announced restrictions on their cover for the coal industry, particularly for new projects, in response to pressure from shareholders, governments and environmental groups who want to limit coal's contribution to global warming. This follows similar moves by banks to restrict their coal financing activities. Coal miners need extensive insurance including for operations, property, equipment, and environmental liability. Three insurance brokers said it can now take months and dozens of enquiries to find such coverage for a coal client. Reuters spoke to five coal mining executives who said that the industry is increasingly moving towards self-insurance and self-finance, as the difficulty of securing coverage from insurers makes loans more expensive or unavailable. Some miners, including South Africa's Seriti Resources and Thungela Resources, are already setting aside capital to self-insure and only buying insurance to protect against larger and less frequent losses. While Seriti has said it is not struggling to get funding from banks, securing insurance cover has become more challenging, according to its chief financial officer Doug Gain. 'In recognition of ESG and related factors shrinking the availability of thermal coal insurance capacity globally, Seriti has embarked on a journey toward increased self-insurance,' Gain told Reuters via email."

Freedom molecules are a major muscle for America to flex on the world stage.

Oil Price (8/29/23) reports: "U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has revealed he plans to promote U.S. natural gas exports at an upcoming G7 meeting. McCarthy will frame his agenda in the context of Europe buying more U.S. gas as a way for the continent to wean itself off Russian gas following its war in Ukraine. 'If we just replace Russian natural gas with American in Europe alone for one year, we would lower 218 billion tons of CO2 emissions because our natural gas is cleaner. America would be economically stronger, our prices would be lower and the world would be safer,' McCarthy said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures. Earlier in the current year, U.S. secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that they had discussed with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell regarding the U.S. and the EU's unprecedented cooperation on energy security. 'We share our commitment to prevent a climate catastrophe through accelerating the global clean energy transition, building resilient, secure and diversified supply chains for renewable energy, and doing it in a way that creates good paying jobs and lowers costs for people on both sides of the Atlantic,' Blinken said. Last year, U.S. LNG exports to Europe jumped 140%Y/Y to 56 billion cubic meters (bcm) as Europe ditched Russian gas. Also, for the first time ever, U.S. LNG exports exceeded pipeline exports of natural gas on an annual basis."

Energy Markets

WTI Crude Oil: ↑ $82.84
Natural Gas: ↓ $2.77
Gasoline: ↑ $3.82

Diesel: ↑ $4.45
Heating Oil: ↓ $308.40
Brent Crude Oil: ↑ $86.61
US Rig Count: ↑ 682

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